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1\/2000, f\/7.1, ISO 400, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\nI photographed this Swainson’s Hawk 16 days ago on the edge of Montana’s Centennial Valley. Even though the bird is fairly small in the frame this is one of my favorite photos from the trip because I like the natural setting so much. Blooming lupines in the valley provided expansive swaths of blue in the landscape\u00a0while I was there but I found it very difficult to include them in my photos of birds. My avian subjects just don’t seem to have my appreciation for the beauty of wildflowers.<\/p>\n
Shortly before this shot was taken the bird was perched out of frame to the right where there were no flowers in view and I had taken off my teleconverter in case “he” took off (so I was less likely to clip any body parts). Instead he walked a short distance to my left and perched on this rock for a few seconds and that little stroll put the lupine in the background. If I hadn’t removed my tc I’d have never been able to include most of the\u00a0flowers in the photo.<\/p>\n
In this case I had good timing for a change.<\/p>\n
Ron<\/p>\n
Note: This hawk had feather damage to its right wing (in this photo some of it can barely be seen on the leading ventral wing surface where the plumage is dark brown). In a few other shots that damage can be seen a little more clearly – the wing appears to have been singed, probably by contact with electrical wires. Thankfully the hawk could fly and acted normally so I believe its next molt will repair the damage.<\/em><\/p>\n